Nuisance Reduction Using Location-Based Attributes

1. A method comprising: providing an image of a wafer that includes a line of material, wherein the image has an x-axis and a y-axis perpendicular to the x-axis; correlating, using a processor, a potential defect against an x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart of the image; correlating, using the processor, the potential defect against a y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart of the image; determining, using the processor, a position of the potential defect relative to the line of material on the wafer along the x-axis and along the y-axis based on a point of the potential defect on the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and a point of the potential defect on the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart, respectively, wherein the determining the position includes: interpolating a location of the line of material; interpolating a location of the potential defect; and determining a distance between the location of the line of material and the location of the potential defect; and classifying, using the processor, the potential defect as a defect of interest or a nuisance event based on the position of the potential defect, wherein the defect of interest is a non-zero distance apart from the line of material along both the x-axis and y-axis, and wherein the nuisance event is on the line of material along at least one of the x-axis or the y-axis.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein both the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart intersect the potential defect.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein both the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart include a threshold, wherein the threshold determines the line of material.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying, using the processor, the potential defect in the image.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, determining, using the processor, a location of the line of material in the image.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is 32 pixels in the x-axis and 32 pixels in the y-axis.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the position is based on a center of the potential defect.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating, using the processor, the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the line of material is a metal line.

10. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program embodied therewith, the computer readable program configured to carry out the method of claim 1 .

11. A system comprising: a processor in electronic communication with an electronic storage medium and a wafer inspection tool, the processor configured to execute instructions that: correlate a potential defect against an x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart of the image of a wafer that includes a line of material, wherein the image has an x-axis and a y-axis perpendicular to the x-axis; correlate the potential defect against a y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart of the image; determine a position of the potential defect relative to the line of material on the wafer along the x-axis and along the y-axis based on a point of the potential defect on the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and a point of the potential defect on the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart, respectively, wherein the determining the position includes: interpolating a location of the line of material; interpolating a location of the potential defect; and determining a distance between the location of the line of material and the location of the potential defect; and classify the potential defect as a defect of interest or a nuisance event based on the position of the potential defect, wherein the defect of interest is a non-zero distance apart from the line of material along both the x-axis and y-axis, and wherein the nuisance event is on the line of material along at least one of the x-axis or the y-axis.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein both the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart include a threshold, wherein the threshold determines the line of material.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions that identify the potential defect in the image.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein both the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart intersect the potential defect.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions that generate the x-axis pixel grey level intensity chart and the y-axis pixel grey level intensity chart.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the line of material is a metal line.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is incorporated in the wafer inspection tool.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the wafer inspection tool generates the image.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the wafer inspection tool is a scanning electron microscope.